Generally, in the development of increasingly denser integrated circuit (IC) packaging, as pitch between adjacent connectors (e.g., metal bumps) decreases, the feature size of under bump metallurgy (UBM) also decreases. Concomitantly, the size of the opening in the overlying layers, such as the polyimide (PI) layer decreases as well. This results in higher contact resistance (Re).
In order to have more bump cell design flexibility, an innovated bump structure is needed, preferably a structure that also provides meet low stress impact on underlying layers, such as extremely low-k (ELK) dielectric, passivation layers, and the like.
Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures are drawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.